


I'll Be Home For Christmas

by MelissaWritesStuff



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, like the lightest angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 15:52:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5422961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelissaWritesStuff/pseuds/MelissaWritesStuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tetsurou groans and rubs his eyes as he internally curses whatever made him think that waiting until the twenty-third of December to fly back home for Christmas was a good idea. Sure, no one was expected a snowstorm this bad, but shit... At this rate, he was going to miss all of Christmas Eve.</p><p> </p><p>  <em>Really, at this rate, I’m gonna miss all of Christmas.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Home For Christmas

“Attention, customers flying on flight B-one-one-zero-one, with service from JFK to Narita International Airport - we’re afraid due to weather, the flight is going to be delayed an additional two hours.”

Tetsurou groans and rubs his eyes, tuning out the rest of the announcement as he internally curses whatever made him think that waiting until the twenty-third of December to fly back home for Christmas was a good idea. Sure, no one was expected a snowstorm this bad, but shit... At this rate, he was going to miss all of Christmas Eve.

_Really, at this rate, I’m gonna miss all of Christmas._

Tetsurou unlocks his phone and goes into his texting conversation with Kei. It’s only five AM the next morning in Tokyo, but Kei’s already been awake for a while.

 _23/12/15 - 14:28:56_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_merry christmas eve <3_

 _23/12/15 - 14:29:05_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_what are u doing up so early?? isn’t it like 4am over there??_

 _23/12/15 - 14:29:43_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep. excited to see you <3 ur boarding your flight soon, right?_

 _23/12/15 - 14:30:01_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_was supposed to be but it started snowing >_>_

Tetsurou sighs as he begrudgingly types out the bad news.

 _23/12/15 - 15:02:34_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_flights been delayed another 2 hours :(_

Less than a minute after the text sends, Kei calls Tetsurou.

“Please tell me that was a typo.”

Tetsurou slouches back in the uncomfortable seat in the waiting area of his flight’s gate. “I wish it was.”

“ _Two hours_? How bad is the snow?”

“Pretty bad,” Tetsurou says, looking out the huge window at the runway he can barely make out through heavy snowfall. “And it looks like it’s just getting worse.”

“So you should be getting in around nine, then?” Kei asks. He’s not being open with his disappointment, and it only makes Tetsurou feel worse. If Kei was openly whining, Tetsurou would know he was exaggerating and didn’t really mean it. It’s when Kei pretends he’s taking it well that means he’s upset.

“I’ll be super late, but I can still make it for dessert,” Tetsurou says, trying to be positive. “Try to leave some leftovers for me.”

Kei snorts. “I’ll try and get Bokuto and Akaashi to leave leftovers, but I can’t make any promises.”

Tetsurou gives a soft laugh. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Kei says quietly.

Tetsurou doesn’t know what else to say and just kisses the receiver, wishing it was Kei instead of his phone and that he could board his flight already. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“I miss you.”

Tetsurou almost wants to start crying, and it’s only then that he realizes how ridiculous he’s being. “God, I’m getting so emotional over this,” he laughs. “I’ll be home for Christmas. That’s what’s important. And as soon as I get to Tokyo, I’m going to be so unbearably sappy that you’ll wish I was still in the States.”

“I can’t wait,” Kei says, and Tetsurou can hear the quiet smile in his voice.

“I love you,” Tetsurou tells him. “Try and take a nap, since you woke up so early.”

“I will, and when I wake up, you better be on that plane.”

“Yes, sir.” Tetsurou pauses a moment before saying another, “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too. How are you gonna kill the next two hours?”

“I have no idea,” Tetsurou sighs. “I guess I could go buy a book or something, but I’m so bad at reading English beyond like, signs and stuff.”

“Now’s your chance to practice,” Kei teases. “Find something good to read and you can tell me all about it when you get here.”

Tetsurou grins. “Kei, I’m gonna be doing a lot of things with my mouth when I get there and none of them involve story-telling.”

“ _Tetsu_ ,” Kei says with a pained laugh. “Ugh, you’re _awful_.”

“C’mon, go take a nap,” Tetsurou tells him. “I’ll text you when I board, okay?”

“Alright. Call me if anything changes.”

“Will do.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Tetsurou says with one last kiss to the receiver before he hangs up.

Throughout his time in America, Tetsurou has felt a certain sense of privacy whenever he talks to Kei on the phone, no matter how many people are around him, simply because he’s not often around many Japanese speakers.

It doesn’t dawn on him until after he looks up from his phone and sees several people quickly turn their attention back to their own phones and books and newspapers that an airport terminal full of people traveling to Japan is an exception to this rule.

 _I just_ had _to say the line about using my mouth, didn’t I?_ Tetsurou thinks to himself as he stands up to go find the nearest shop that sells books, hoping that his face isn’t as red as it feels.

~

“Attention, passengers flying on flight B-eleven-oh-one, with service from JFK to Narita International Airport - due to weather conditions, it looks like the flight is gonna be delayed another two hours.”

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Tetsurou says, folding the corner of the page down and setting his book aside. Looking at the current time - 4:48 PM - he does some math on what time that’ll put him in Tokyo. In two hours, it’ll be about seven, and Tokyo’s fourteen hours ahead, plus another fourteen for the flight...

_Well, so much for just being a late to dinner._

He almost doesn’t even want to text Kei the bad news, hoping before he gets the chance there’ll be some, “Never mind! We’re back and schedule and boarding in five minutes!” announcement, but he can’t avoid it when Kei texts him first.

 _23/12/15 - 16:51:07_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_just woke up. almost EXACTLY two hours._

 _23/12/15 - 16:51:15_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_congrats, babe. im proud of u._

 _23/12/15 - 16:51:27_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_ha ha. how was your wait? r u boarding soon?_

Tetsurou’s heart feels heavy in his chest as he responds.

 _23/12/15 - 16:52:05_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_delayed again. another two hours._

 _23/12/15 - 16:53:01_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_oh. okay. ill let bokuto and akaashi know youre not coming then, i guess._

 _23/12/15 - 16:53:12_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_im so so so sorry_

 _23/12/15 - 16:53:24_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_its not your fault, dont worry about it. late is better than not at all._

 _23/12/15 - 16:53:35_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_still gonna go to bokuto and akaashi’s?_

 _23/12/15 - 16:53:56_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_probably. i dont have much to do here by myself._

 _23/12/15 - 16:54:04_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_its only like, 7am there, right? u should try to get some more sleep._

 _23/12/15 - 16:54:13_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_nah, im not tired. ill find something to do._

 _23/12/15 - 16:54:20_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_i love you_

 _23/12/15 - 16:54:29_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_i love you too. stop getting delayed._

 _23/12/15 - 16:54:35_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_ill try <3_

Tetsurou sighs as he puts his phone back in his pocket.

“Can you believe this snow?” the man next to him asks, loosening up his already loosened tie.

Tetsurou clears his throat a little as he mentally switches from Japanese to English. While studying abroad the past few months has immensely improved his fluency, he’s still not the point where he doesn’t have the think about it. “Oh, yeah, it’s crazy,” he says with a sigh.

“What’re you in the US for?” he asks. “Vacation, or...?”

“School,” Tetsurou responds. “I’m studying abroad here.”

“Oh, neat! You headed back to Japan for good or just for the holidays?”

“Just for the holidays,” Tetsurou says, and he can’t help but feel a little bittersweet. He’s been having a blast, living in America for a while, but he’s already dreading having to leave Kei behind _again_. “What about you? Business trip?”

“Yup,” the man says with a laugh, gesturing to the suit he’s wearing that makes it a dead giveaway. “Yeah, real fun traveling for work during Christmas.”

“I could never,” Tetsurou says, shaking his head. “Even just missing Christmas Eve right now is awful.”

“Are the delays making you miss out on anything?”

“I was supposed to have dinner at my friend’s house with my boyfriend,” Tetsurou says bitterly, tapping his fingers against his thighs impatiently.

“Boyfriend?” the man repeats. Tetsurou hesitates a moment before the man quickly laughs and covers himself. “Oh, sorry, I don’t know why I’m surprised.” He held up his left hand and pointed at his wedding band. “My husband and I are celebrating three years in January.”

Tetsurou raises his eyebrows. “You have a husband and you’re not spending Christmas with him?”

“He’s Jewish,” the man says with a shrug. “How long have you and your boyfriend been together?”

“Well...” Tetsurou paused to do some counting in his head. He and Kei had started dating about halfway through his first year of college, and now Tetsurou was in his second year of grad school... “A little over five years.”

The man whistles. “Wow. Good for you two.”

“A lot of it has been long distance, too,” Tetsurou admits. “Have you ever had to do that?”

“Not with my husband, no.”

“Lucky,” Tetsurou remarks. “Our first two years together were long distance until he moved to Tokyo with me, and now with me studying abroad... Yeah, it sucks.”

“Two more hours,” the man says encouragingly. “Then you’ll be on your way to see him.”

“Mm,” Tetsurou hums, glancing over to the window to see if the snow has let up at all.

It hasn’t.

When he looks back, he sees the man has pulled out his phone and is sending a text to a contact called Richard.

__To Richard:  
I love you._ _

A moment later, he gets a text in response asking, __What did u do_. _ and Tetsurou has to clear his throat to cover up a laugh.

_~_

“If I could have your attention, ladies and gentlemen!”

Tetsurou and the rest of the small circle of people who have started playing cards while waiting for their flight to board eagerly look up as the announcement begins.

“Passengers flying on flight B-one-one-oh-one, with service from JFK to Narita International Airport - the good news is that the snow is finally letting up, but it’s still gonna take us a while to get the plane and runway ready to fly. It should be another hour or so before boarding begins. Thank you for your patience.”

Everyone in the circle starts groaning and muttering curses under their breath. Tetsurou sets aside his hand so he can text Kei another update.

 _23/12/15 - 19:02:49_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_snow’s letting up but it’s gonna take another hour to get up in the air._

 _23/12/15 - 19:03:01_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_k. keep me posted._

 _23/12/15 - 19:03:08_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_ur getting grumpy arent u_

 _23/12/15 - 19:03:15_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_shut up_

 _23/12/15 - 19:03:22_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_im gonna be home for christmas!! im rly late but im gonna be there!!_

 _23/12/15 - 19:03:41_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_not christmas eve though._

Tetsurou sighs and excuses himself from the game, standing up and walking away as he calls Kei.

Kei picks up on the third ring. “What?”

“You’re grumpy.”

“You said that already,” Kei grumbles.

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t make it,” Tetsurou says softly. “And I really, really wish I was on that flight and that I’d be landing in Tokyo in a few hours and that I’d get to see you and hold you and kiss you and kiss you and kiss you... And go _home_ and be in our apartment again and see your half-assed Christmas decorations in person and sit on our couch and take a nap in our bed, and get ready to go to Bokuto and Akaashi’s together - man, I _miss_ getting ready in the same place as you. I miss watching you shave and I miss how you always kissed me after I brushed my teeth and I miss having you make fun of my fashion choices while I get dressed. I was looking forward to that so much... And I was looking forward to after dinner, too, when I was gonna get to take you home, and we could stay up and have cocoa and swap stories until I’m so exhausted from traveling all day that I can barely keep my eyes open, and then we’d go to bed and I’d get to fall asleep with you in my arms again...”

Tetsurou pauses, waiting for Kei to say something, but he just mumbles something Tetsurou can’t quite make out.

“What was that?”

“ _Please_ stop getting delayed,” Kei says, raising his voice a little but still just barely above a whisper. It almost breaks Tetsurou’s heart to hear it, since Kei so rarely sounds so vulnerable, and he immediately swears to himself that if there’s ever a next time that he’s out of town around Christmas, he’s going to plan to be home sooner than Christmas Eve. Really though, he just hopes that after he finishes his year abroad, he and Kei will never have to be long distance again.

“I’m gonna be home for Christmas,” Tetsurou promises. “Even if I get delayed again and again and again and don’t get home until the very last minute, I’m gonna be there, and then we can do all the stuff I just said, and it’s gonna be great.”

Kei is quiet for a moment before letting out a bitter laugh. “God, how did we ever last two years long distance? It’s been what, five months since you left?”

“I think we’ve gotten spoiled, living in the same apartment for the past three years,” Tetsurou says with a smile.

Kei just hums in agreement. “I don’t like having the apartment to myself.”

Tetsurou just groans. “I _swear_ , I’m coming as fast as I can!”

“I believe you,” Kei says softly. “Call me when you get an update, okay?”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I love you so, so, so much, Tsukishima Kei.”

Kei sighs, but Tetsurou can tell that he’s smiling. “I love you, too, Tetsu.”

“I love you so, so, so, so, so-”

Kei hangs up on him.

~

“Attention, passengers flying on flight B-one-one-zero-one, with service from JFK to Narita International Airport - in just a moment, we’ll begin boarding-”

The rest of the announcement is drowned out by a chorus of sighs and “ _finally_ ”s and the sound of zippers as people quickly pack all their belongings back into their carry-ons. It took about a half an hour longer than they initially said, but they were boarding. Tetsurou would finally be on his way to see Kei, to spend _Christmas_ with him. He’d get to sleep with him in their bed and make pancakes for him in the morning and shower him with all the silly presents and souvenirs he’d packed his suitcase with. Tetsurou couldn’t help but be filled with a fresh wave of giddy Christmas spirit. It was like putting out cookies for Santa when he was a kid; there was still a long wait ahead, but the exciting stuff was _so close_.

And when Tetsurou pulled out his phone to text Kei the good news, he found that his iPhone had died somewhere in the past hour and a half.

_Oh, shit._

Giddiness was turned to a moment of panic as Tetsurou contemplated getting his phone on a charger really quick, just to send _one_ text message and let Kei know what was going on, but all the other passengers were already lining up, and iPhones take forever to turn back on after dying, and finding an available outlet in an _airport_ was going to be enough of a feat in of itself. But _still_... God, he doesn’t want to leave Kei waiting for an update for the next fourteen hours... He figures that the longer he waits to make a decision, the more time he loses, so he quickly opens his carry-on to dig out his charger, and…

It’s not there. He must have put it in his checked luggage.

_Goddamnit._

With a sigh, Tetsurou just put his stupid, dead phone in his pocket, gathered up his belongings, and joined the rest of the passengers in line, thinking as hard as he could, _I’m on my way, I’m on my way, I’m on my way_ and hoping maybe, just maybe, Kei would read his thoughts all the way from Japan.

At the very least, he hoped Kei would have a nice time at Bokuto and Akaashi’s without him.

~

The flight was easily the longest fourteen hours of his life.

He spent most of the time sleeping, or at least trying to. While sleep isn’t usually a problem for Tetsurou (rather, it’s waking up that’s the hard part), sleeping while traveling has never really worked out for him. He dozes off every now and then for about an hour at a time. During the rest of his time while awake, he finishes the book he bought in the airport and watches some of the Christmas movies the flight offers, but he can’t really fully enjoy any of the films. If anything, he’s just using them as a way to measure time. With each one finished, his first thought is always, _Okay, how many more movies do I need to watch before it’s time to land?_

Tetsurou ends up sleeping through the last chunk of the flight and is only woken up by a landing that’s _just_ bumpy enough to grumble about as he gets out of his seat to get his carry-on from the overhead compartment. He feels like death from being woken up so abruptly, and he’s only gotten about five hours of sleep total. It actually takes him a minute or two before he remembers that he finally gets to see Kei.

As soon as he’s off the plane, he heads for the first store he sees that sells phone accessories, buys a new charger, and manages to find an outlet relatively easily, considering the airport isn’t too crowded this time of night. Tetsurou isn’t even sure what time it is as he waits for his phone to come back to life, but to his body, it’s probably about ten in the morning and he just wants to go home and sleep so badly.

His screen goes bright as it finally decides it has enough power in it to function, and when his lock screen finally appears... It’s 11:27 PM.

“What?” Tetsurou says to himself, frowning in confusion. There was no _way_ it was 11:27... They shouldn’t have touched down in Tokyo until a bit after midnight. Had the flight gone by faster than expected somehow? Was there some crazy tailwind or something? Tetsurou was now kicking himself for sleeping through the end of the flight, when the pilots probably made some announcement about that...

But once the initial confusion fizzles, Tetsurou realizes - it’s 11:27. He’s made it in time. It’s still Christmas Eve. God, if he hurries, he can actually make it home in time for Christmas Eve. Tetsurou immediately unplugs his phone again to head for baggage claim. He needs to get to the metro as soon as possible... Or maybe a taxi might be faster? God, he _just_ might be able to make it...

As his phone finishes waking up, it starts receiving all the calls and texts it missed out on while it was dead, and Tetsurou can’t help but cringe at all the missed calls from Kei. As he hurries, he goes into his messages to see what Kei sent him.

 _24/12/15 - 10:38:02_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_have u still not boarded???_

 _24/12/15 - 10:47:48_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_helloooooooooo_

 _24/12/15 - 10:47:52_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_i tried calling it and went straight to voicemail. why is ur phone off????_

 _24/12/15 - 10:59:23_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_well. either your flight got cancelled and ur avoiding me out of shame, or u boarded and didnt tell me. either way, u suck._

 _24/12/15 - 11:00:14_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_(i still hope its the second one though)_

 _24/12/15 - 13:22:51_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_when u land (because hopefully ur on a flight rn and just didnt tell me, your boyfriend, who you are on ur way to see, HOPEFULLY), check ur voicemail. just ran out and did some last minute shopping with yamaguchi and we passed some carolers. thought u wouldve loved it, so i sent u a recording <3 but u still suck_

 _24/12/15 - 14:47:03_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_i made some gingerbread yesterday because i thought u would be here to eat it but its all... mysteriously vanished... i saved u one gingerbread man though_

 _24/12/15 - 14:55:12_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_i ate the last gingerbread man_

 _24/12/15 - 16:02:24_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_update: this all sucks even more now, knowing that u were supposed to be here by now_

 _24/12/15 - 17:34:51_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_im getting ready to go to bokuto and akaashi’s and i accidentally used ur cologne instead of mine and now everything smells like u and im sad_

 _24/12/15 - 17:49:17_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_headed to bokuto and akaashi’s. i still miss u. and u still suck._

 _24/12/15 - 22:34:01_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_finished with dinner. its only 10:30 but im heading home anyway. i wanna stay up and wait for u but 1) i have no idea when u get in bcuz u didnt tell me 2) im still exhausted from waking up at like 4 in the morning. so. no promises._

 _24/12/15 - 23:02:34_  
_From Kei <3:_  
_please come home soon._

Tetsurou at this point is power walking much faster than his exhausted body wants to go, but he needs to see Kei _so badly_. He and Kei are finally in the same city again, he loves Kei so, so much, and a little exhaustion is not nearly enough to get Tetsurou to slow down and take it easy.

 _24/12/15 - 23:31:05_  
_To Kei <3:_  
_im so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry i can explain later but ive landed im in tokyo im on my way home i love you i love you i love you_

Tetsurou’s phone dies once more before Kei can respond.

~

When the taxi drops Tetsurou off outside his apartment building, the clock in his car says it’s 11:54. He has six minutes to make it in time for Christmas Eve.

The taxi driver offers to help him with his bags, but Tetsurou is in too much of a rush to accept the hospitality. The second he’s paid the taxi driver, he’s already rushing into his building and headed straight for the elevator.

He’s so tired, but Kei is _so close_.

Once the elevator finally stops at his floor, Tetsurou is a mess as he tries to drag his bags behind him and simultaneously look for his keys. When he finally finds them, it’s another few minutes of fumbling as he gets the right key the right direction and into the lock, but then he gets the door open and he’s _home_.

All the lights in the room are turned off except for the dozens of strings of fairy lights draped all over the living room and Christmas tree. Tetsurou is speechless for a moment, because this is _hardly_ what the picture Kei had sent him a week ago looked like, when Kei had claimed he was “finished decorating” after putting up a single string of lights and a tiny tree. There are shimmery garlands of red and gold and silver everywhere and paper snowflakes tacked to the wall, and the TV is on and playing a recording of a crackling fire. Kei decorated for him, and Tetsurou is so touched (and exhausted) that he almost starts to tear up a little.

Tetsurou then sees Kei himself, fast asleep on their sofa, and he wants to cry even more. He immediately kicks off his shoes and shrugs off his coat, leaving all of his stuff in a heap by the door as he quietly walks to where Kei is sleeping. Kei still has his glasses on and his phone in his hand, and Tetsurou guesses that he really had been trying to stay up for him and had fallen asleep by accident. He gets down on his knees in front of Kei, unable to stop smiling at the peaceful, sleeping face he missed so much it hurt, and leans in and gently kisses his forehead.

“Kei,” his whispers, and his chest is so full of happiness it feels like it’ll burst. “Kei, sweetheart, wake up.”

Kei cringes a little, scrunching up his face and groaning before peeking out of one eye. Then he _immediately_ gasps and before Tetsurou knows it, Kei has thrown his arms around Tetsurou’s neck and is squeezing the life out of him.

“ _Tetsu_...”

Tetsurou hugs him back tightly and kisses his check over and over. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too,” Kei says, grabbing fistfuls of the back of Tetsurou’s shirt and nuzzling his face against the crook of Tetsurou’s neck. “I missed you so much, Tetsurou.”

“I made it in time for Christmas Eve,” Tetsurou says quietly.

Kei immediately pulls away to grab his phone and check the time and sure enough, it’s 11:59.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Kei sighs.

Tetsurou just grins, cupping Kei’s face in his hands and kissing him. “I wasn’t supposed to make it, but my flight got in early.”

“It’s a Christmas miracle,” Kei deadpans, but he can’t hide how pleased he looks, with the small smile on his lips and a rosy blush Tetsurou can see even in the dim light of the Christmas decorations.

“I love you,” Tetsurou tells him.

“I love you, too,” Kei says softly before giving Tetsurou another kiss. “Now help me up, I need to hug you properly.”

Tetsurou stands up and, taking Kei’s hands in his, pulls Kei to his feet before immediately pulling him into his arms.

“How was your flight?” Kei asks, resting his head on Tetsurou’s shoulder and slowly moving his hands over Tetsurou’s back in what is probably the nicest, coziest hug Tetsurou could possibly ask for after such a long flight.

“It was alright,” Tetsurou sighed. “Kind of a bumpy landing, and I barely slept at all.”

“Oh, jeez, really? How much sleep have you gotten in the past twenty-four hours?”

Tetsurou pauses to do some counting in his head, but his brain is far too tired for this and it takes him a lot longer than it should. “I mean, I slept about five hours on the flight, but even that barely counts.”

“You can never sleep on planes, can you?” Kei says, turning his face in to kiss Tetsurou’s cheek before pulling back to look at him. He rests a hand on Tetsurou’s cheek and runs his thumb over the circles that are surely dark under Tetsurou’s eyes. “You must be exhausted. Do you wanna just go to bed?”

“I think I’m actually gonna eat something first,” Tetsurou says. Now that he’s with Kei and holding him in his arms and can finally relax, he’s starting the feel the full extent of his travel-worn body. “And I really need a shower...”

“You go shower, I’ll heat something up for you,” Kei immediately offers, giving Tetsurou another kiss before turning to head for their kitchen.

“Oh, Kei, you don’t have to-”

“Tetsu, please,” Kei laughs, rolling his eyes at him over his shoulder. “I haven’t gotten to take care of you in months. Let me make you something. Do you want some tea, too?”

Tetsurou involuntarily lets out a dreamy sigh, because tea sounds _wonderful_.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Kei says with a smile, resuming his walk to the kitchen and turning on all the lights as he goes.

Tetsurou sleepily shuffles to their bathroom and finds that it’s been decorated, too, with little snowmen figures and plastic trees mixed in among the hand soap bottles and cologne and tubes of toothpaste that litter the counter. There’s also a pair of Tetsurou’s pajamas laid out waiting for him, like Kei had been expecting him to have a shower once he’d come home.

Being back in his home, where everything is so familiar and every room is filled with Kei’s possessions mixed with his own and the whole place smells like the scented candles Kei likes to burn, where he and Kei share a living room and a kitchen and a bathroom and a bed, where Kei stays up late on the couch waiting for him when he doesn’t even know when Tetsurou’s gonna be home and makes Tetsurou a meal in the middle of the night just to take care of him and lays out pajamas for him just in case he wants to have a shower... Tetsurou’s a little overwhelmed, he’s so happy to be back. It doesn’t feel like a grand homecoming, like it probably will at the end of spring when he comes back to Japan for good. He’s just quietly slipping back into his life, where Kei takes care of him and tells him he loves him and decorates the house for Christmas just because Tetsurou was coming to visit for the holidays, and God, he has it so good... Even just having Kei, he’s luckier than he could’ve ever hoped to be. Even as he finally gets a hold of himself and goes to start the shower, he can’t stop smiling.

~

Kei’s still at the stove when Tetsurou shuffles into the kitchen, feeling warm and toasty from the shower and the flannel pajamas Kei laid out for him. Tetsurou comes up behind Kei and wraps his arms around his waist, nuzzling his face against Kei’s shoulder.

“I love you so much,” Tetsurou murmurs.

“I love you, too.” Kei’s quiet for a moment before he turns and sniffs Tetsurou. “Did you use my shampoo?”

“Mmhmm,” Tetsurou says with a smile. “I missed the way you smell.”

Kei just shakes his head before giving Tetsurou a quick kiss and turning back to the cooking. “I’m almost done with this. You can go wait in the living room, if you want.”

“Jeez, you’re actually cooking,” Tetsurou says, his mouth watering just looking at the meal Kei’s making him. “I thought you were just gonna make instant noodles or toast or something.”

“It’s like I said before: I haven’t gotten to take care of you in months. And even before you left, you take care of me most of the time, anyway.” Kei pulls the pan from the stovetop and starts spooning his cooking into a bowl for Tetsurou. “It’s the least I can do.”

They end up sitting in the living room together while Tetsurou eats and drinks his tea, and Kei tells Tetsurou about his day. In all honesty, the cooking isn’t the _best_ , but it’s still one of the best meals Tetsurou has had in a long time, just because Kei made it for him and he was mindful to only put in things Tetsurou likes and leave out things he doesn’t.

“Thank you for the meal,” Tetsurou says once he finishes his bowl, setting it aside on their coffee table.

“How was it?” Kei asks.

Tetsurou takes Kei’s hands in his and kisses them. “It was wonderful.”

Kei gives him a soft smile. “Do you want to go to bed now?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Tetsurou says immediately, feeling a little wobbly as Kei helps him to his feet. The warm shower and a full stomach had just made him sleepier.

They head to their bedroom together, and Tetsurou has never felt more truly at home than he does now, climbing into his side of the bed and snuggling up with Kei in the middle. Kei kisses him, and it’s the first kiss since he got home that isn’t a quick peck, that’s long and slow and enough to make Tetsurou’s heart pound and his head spin, and _God_ , did Tetsurou miss the way it feels to have Kei’s lips against his. If Tetsurou was any less tired, he would try to keep the kiss going and turn it into something more, but he’ll have to save it for morning, because right now, every muscle in his body feels so tired, he doesn’t want to move.

“I thought it might be weird finally having you back,” Kei murmurs once he’s pulled away, “but it doesn’t. If anything, it feels like everything’s just back to normal and the past few months just didn’t happen and you’ve been here the whole time.”

Tetsurou just hums, pressing a few more kisses to Kei’s lips before pulling him snug against his chest. “I missed sleeping in the same bed as you.”

Kei nuzzles his face against Tetsurou. “Me, too.”

“Merry Christmas, Kei.”

Maybe Kei says it back, or maybe Kei says something else, but Tetsurou doesn’t stay awake long enough to hear it. Being in his own apartment, in his own bed, with Kei back in his arms, it feels like the balance has been restored in the universe, and Tetsurou can finally rest.

**Author's Note:**

> {[click here to reblog from my writing tumblr](http://melissawritesstuff.tumblr.com/post/135168530624/ill-be-home-for-christmas)}  
> ★reblogs are much appreciated★


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